To do

I was flipping through a journal of mine and came across a list I had written of places and things i want to visit/experience in the next five years.

1) Aurora Watching in Fairbanks, Alaska. I saw an aurora borealis once before in Vermont and it was amazing. I looked up some folklore concerning the source of northern lights but I didn’t particularly like any of them. There were a lot of negative ones and not particularly imaginative. Sorry different cultures and native tribes of the world, but that's how I feel.

Pulled from an NY Times Article:

It was an electrical storm, charged by the sun and driven by solar winds: the aurora borealis. At this latitude — in Chena Hot Springs, Fairbanks — the aurora appears an estimated 200 nights a year. This night, it broke into three parallel streams and flowed across the sky like a river for two hours. Then it evaporated.

2) See a Sigur Ros concert in Iceland. Or Bjork.

3) Machu Picchu in Peru. This one's a family goal. While my parents hike, I'll probably rent a donkey.
4) Originally, this one was to visit Nelson Mandela's cell in South Africa. In my journal, it says, "b/c sometimes even the darkest places can become holy with enough contemplation, suffering, and triumph of the human spirit." I think I'll save this one for the 10 year plan. Not sure what to replace this one with. Something in America, perhaps. A combo of experience and destination.

Maybe camp out in Washington and watch the inaugural address if Obama gets elected.